You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This
by ForsakenOathKeeper
Summary: Hiccup x Astrid. One-Shot. A dance floor scene with some confessions. Mostly fluff.


_**You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This**_  
_One-Shot. A dance floor scene with some confessions. Mostly fluff.**  
**_This chapter was last updated on **10/9/13  
**

Originally from my one-shot series _Let's Be Crazy_

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Hiccup woke up that morning with a strange pain emitting from his ghost foot. It seemed to be a common occurrence to wake up and still feel _something_ emitting from where his foot used to be. He swore he could feel his numb toes and his aching ankle, even though he would never admit that to just anyone. He mostly only shared that with Gobber, who was the only one able to really understand how he felt.

It was easy sharing something like that with the larger viking; Gobber was always so understanding and had only dozens of stories about his missing arm and leg. Sometimes, the stories didn't even seem to run together, but after the incident with the Boneknapper, Hiccup decided to just believe him regardless.

Even though Hiccup could look down at his metal foot and tell himself, "_it's definitely not there anymore,_" he could feel the pain as clear as day. It reminded him of Bucket's ability to tell the weather by his headaches-or _bucket_ aches… That only resulted in a cringe because it made him realize he was turning into bucket. Next thing ya'know, everyone would start calling him _rod-leg_ or _footless... _or_ stumpy_. Perhaps, his ghost foot could predict natural disasters? Or warn him of future events?

_What the hell am I thinking?_

It was New Year's Eve today. The second he woke up, his dad was shoving him out the door, going on about preparations and the like. It was like this every time the calendar shifted. They gathered in the center of the village, popped up some large canopies, laid out large tables, and of course, prepared a dance floor, which was, really, just a plot of firm dirt.

It wasn't the most original of Viking customs to dance the night away on New Year's Eve, up until the year finally shifted, but enough ale could get even the toughest Viking off his feet and bouncing around. Not everyone really needed it, however.

Hiccup never really enjoyed these types of celebrations. He knew that it was simply because he never had any fun, plain and simple. He spent most of the events sitting on his ass, watching other people have fun. It wasn't really something he over thought; it was just the way things were and he was content with that.

By the time the sun was beginning to set, the preparations had been completed and most of the village gathered in the center of town. The little ones weren't out, however. They were all gathered at Madam Bjork's house. She was the nanny of the village, always watching the little ones when the grown-ups had _work_ to do. Hiccup remembered being babysat by her. She was always nice, unless you screwed up, then she turned into something more frightening than a monstrous nightmare. Hiccup shivered at the memory.

This time of the year also meant that everyone above the age of thirteen was allowed to participate in the toast. Last year was Hiccup's first drink; over all, it hadn't gone very well, though it could've been worse. He found that his ability to hold alcohol was definitely inferior to that of his fellow teens. At least he wasn't as light as Snotlout, who practically started stripping until his father dragged him away. Hiccup merely fell asleep and missed the entire celebration; supposedly, Bucket thought he was awake-seeing as he had fallen asleep in a seated position with his arm holding his head up-and kept him company. He spoke to him the entire time, everyone claimed. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember any of it, neither could Bucket.

Stoick managed to push his way through the crowd and stand in the middle of them all. Everyone quickly quieted down and directed their attention to him. Hiccup was standing further in the back, far from the dance floor. "A toast-" Stoick began. Everyone lifted their tankards in unison with the chief. As Hiccup lifted his mug, a thought crossed his mind: he hoped he wouldn't fall asleep again. "-to great fortune, to great discoveries, to many great children and happiness… -to a great new year!"

As he finished his toast, everyone cheered and took a big swig from their tankards. It was only custom that the tankard was emptied in the first toast and in the first drink. As Hiccup finished his drink, he slammed it down on the table he was near, took a deep breath, and wiped his mouth. The band that had volunteered their instrumental skills for the service began playing immediately. No one wasted any time crowding the dance floor.

Hiccup quickly found a chair by a long table where he could sit and enjoy the celebration alone. He wasn't feeling tired yet, so far so good. Toothless came up from behind him and pressed his nose into his master's side, making a very dragon-like purring sound.

"Hey, bud," Hiccup replied, placing a hand on Toothless' forehead.

"Still awake?" someone teased.

Hiccup turned his attention to a blonde that was walking over to him.

"Yes, Astrid, I'm still awake," he replied in a very _as a matter of fact_ tone.

"Good," she replied with a smile, "then, you're feeling well enough to dance?"

"Uh, dance?" he tried not to stutter.

Astrid walked closer to him and reached for his hands. She gently grabbed his wrists and pulled him out of his chair. He did his best to step away from her, but Toothless was standing directly behind him. Hiccup backed up into the beast, who gently nudged him back into Astrid.

"Yes, dance. Don't tell me the _dragon conqueror_ can't dance."

He knew that she was trying to push his buttons, trying to get him into that competitive mood, but he was smarter and wouldn't fall for it!

"Oh, no-I'm feeling very tired all of a sudden!" he backed up into Toothless again and fell back on top of him, trying to pretend to have passed out. He slid down Toothless' scaly hide and fell onto the ground, but held his position. Toothless looked down at him and pressed his nose into Hiccup's side and tried to roll him over, but Hiccup wouldn't budge.

"I guess if you're scared, I understand," Astrid teased. She turned away from him and crossed her arms. She was trying to hide her smirk from him. Mentally, she was counting the seconds it would take him to retort.

_3…_

_2…_

_1..._

"Scared?" he quickly stood up and dusted himself off. He walked around Astrid to look at her face. "What Viking is scared of dancing? I'm just-"

"Oh, no," she quickly interrupted him, "you're scared of me."

"You!?" he bellowed.

"Yep, me," she smugly replied and turned away from him again, arms crossed. Toothless gave her an odd look, perhaps wondering exactly what she was getting at. _What the hell is dancing? Those weird human movements?_

As she had skillfully predicated, Hiccup grabbed her arm and dragged her onto the dance floor; although, it wasn't really dragging seeing as she happily followed behind him, smirking to herself. They quickly found an open area, surrounding by Vikings they didn't know very well; at least, Astrid didn't know them. Hiccup practically knew everyone these days, even if he denied his popularity fiercly.

As Hiccup nervously placed his hands on Astrid's slender waste, he caught sight of Toothless staring at them through the crowd. His bright green eyes were reflecting the light from the torch fire. Hiccup suddenly felt pathetic; was he really looking to a dragon for help with handling women? _No, of course not..._

Astrid set her hands on Hiccup's bony shoulders, catching his attention. As he looked into her bright, blue eyes, he was suddenly hypnotized. He had never danced before, or even really knew how, he only had ever observed. But, all of a sudden, they were moving together. It was slow and steady and a bit uncoordinated, at first. It was mostly Hiccup trying to prevent his metal foot from stepping on her feet; in fact, he didn't want his foot touching her at all.

Astrid was quick to catch onto this. "I'm not at all worried about your foot, Hiccup. Relax, okay?" she tried to sooth him with her gentle tone and whispers. He gave her a crooked smile that made her laugh warmly at him. As they moved, he did his best to forget about his foot. In fact, soon enough, all he could think about was Astrid.

It seemed that they were mostly lost in that moment, unable to really see anyone else around them. They just moved through the crowd, avoiding the giants around them and hardly able to see past each other's eyes. That was fine. Reality could wait.

"So, why me?" he suddenly asked.

"Why not?" she retorted in a teasing tone. "You're actually pretty good at this, Hiccup."

He couldn't really come up with much of an excuse. Or, rather, he had plenty of possible excuses as to why she wouldn't want to dance with him; however, none of them sounded right. He could argue that she wanted a real Viking, something more buff and manly, but he knew from experience that she hated hearing that. Instead, he decided to take a dance and tried spinning her. To his surprise, she didn't resist him, but moved as he had intended.

When she came back around, their bodies smacked together. He mentally scorned himself, afraid that she would be angry at him. However, he could've sworn he heard her giggle. He could feel her small hands placed firmly on his scrawny chest. As she lifted her head to look at him, their breath mixed. They really weren't sure who instigated it, but they were suddenly kissing.

Astrid's hands tangled in Hiccup's brown locks. She tugged on his hair, receiving a light moan of approval from the scrawny boy. She crushed her body against his and that seemed to bring him back to reality. To her dismay, Hiccup suddenly pulled away from her. Before she could get a word out, Hiccup was making a run for it.

He stumbled through the crowd, trying to avoid the other dancers. He ended up hitting someone on the way out; Hiccup quickly sputtered an apology before finding his way off the dance floor and making a full sprinted run for it. Toothless didn't hesitate to follow after him and was right on his tail.

Astrid slowly stepped through the crowd and stared into the direction that Hiccup ran off to. Her mouth suddenly felt dry and her heart began to ache.

"Hiccup…" she muttered. She recognized this as the way she felt when he nearly died after fighting the red death: the way she felt when Toothless opened his wings and exposed an unconscious boy who she was terrified was dead. It was the way she felt every day until he woke up. She'd visit him every evening, sit by his bed side, and pretend she was there because she felt sorry for him.

But, no... It wasn't pity. It was grief – _sorrow_ – absolute misery. She needed him to wake up for her. She needed him to wake up and be with her – she _needed_ him. Astrid didn't wait around; she began following after him, certain that she knew where he was going.

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Astrid slowly stalked into the forge, knowing that if Hiccup was here, he would be hiding, and if she was to catch him, she'd have to sneak up on him. Toothless was nowhere to be found, which made her wonder if they flew off. However, he wasn't wearing his saddle earlier, so it was possible that they hadn't.

She took careful steps, her arms opened wide for balance. She tried to be light as a feather, not wanting to make a single sound as she slowly walked in. It didn't really feel natural walking into the forge like that; she was a natural born fighter and stealth was one of those vital traits, but this was home to her. It was also the place she always went when looking for Hiccup. It would forever hold that value to her.

"If I was Hiccup…" she mentally pondered, wondering where he would be hiding. As she walked along, she suddenly noticed a familiar metal device on the floor. She picked it up and rotated it in her hands.

"Okay!" she called out. "Hiccup, I have your foot!" She gazed around the room, waiting for some movement. Then, suddenly, the tablecloth on one of the smaller end tables began to shift. Hiccup crawled out from under it; he placed his hand on the table for support so he wouldn't fall over.

"I give up," he muttered shamefully.

Astrid couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Does your foot fall off often?" she asked.

He mumbled his response, clearly embarrassed, "only when I don't secure it well enough… and the dancing… and the running away…"

"Here," she said as she approached him. "Sit down and I'll do it."

"Astrid, I-"

"Sit. Down," she spelt out harshly.

Hiccup quickly found a chair and plopped himself in it. He quickly folded up his legging, trying to be as helpful as possible. Astrid sat down by his leg, trying to get comfortable on the forge's hard floor, and hoping she wouldn't get metal shavings in her ass. Hiccup wouldn't admit it, but he was secretly happy that she wanted to help him. She brought his metal foot to his stub and began working the bindings together. Hiccup looked away, trying to cloud his mind in other thoughts.

"Why'd you run away? Did my breathe stink or something?" she asked, sounding rather harsh.

"No, of course not!" he defended.

_I love kissing you…_

"Then?" she demanded.

"Erm… I had to…"

"Hiccup, the truth. Don't I deserve that?" She paused for a moment to look up at him. Hiccup's gaze lowered down and he caught sight of her eyes. She appeared pained, wronged, and actually, sincerely hurt. He frowned, deeply – sadly - and it made her quickly look back to his foot and continued wrapping it. She hated that pouty, puppy eyes, sad look that he always gave her – it made her feel weak to his whims.

"I – I have to know… What am I to you? You can't – you can't kiss me like that and not expect me to… get hopeful."

"Hopeful for what, Hiccup?"

"For _us_."

She finished connecting his metal foot to his leg. It was different than how he connected them; however, despite that, he liked it. It felt comfortable, _normal_, even. The two stood up in unison. Hiccup stepped around, a bit, getting used to his foot. It felt firm without being too tight and it made him sincerely happy, but he didn't smile.

"I'm committed to you," she replied, finally. "I thought you knew that."

"I can't read your mind," he dryly replied.

She finally smiled and it made him smile back at her. "I'll try to use more words, then… But you have to be honest with me, all the time… -and, I thought you knew because I don't kiss anyone else. Or dance with them… Or _anything_ else."

Hiccup opened his mouth, but she quickly interrupted him, "don't you dare mention _Snotlout_. Anything that exists between us is in his imagination." He quickly shut his mouth, but only to be punched in the arm.

"Ow!" he whined, holding his sore arm and rubbing it pathetically for comfort.

"That's for leaving me all alone on the dance floor!" she snapped at him. He knew what was coming next, but it was time to be daring, to be manly, for once. She was committed to him and that meant more than anything.

Before she could carry on, he gently grasped her shoulders and pressed his lips against hers. She'd probably hit him again – _most likely_ – but, strangely enough, she didn't. She returned that kiss, enthusiastically: her hands found their way into his messy, brown hair, her body leaned into his.

He found the nerve to nudge her with his own body. He backed her up into the table behind them. Astrid's lower back knocked into the table. Its legs screeched against the hard floors. Hiccup's hands wrapped around her waist, crushing their bodies together. Even being lanky and small, he was firm and felt strong against her. Even Astrid, who was a strong fighter felt soft against him.

They parted for a moment, only to breathe before they were latched onto each other again. It was sloppy, messy, and wet, but all to perfect. They met each other's passion fiercely. Hiccup didn't ask for permission, he simply slipped his tongue right between her lips and into her mouth. She greeted him with a light moan and her eager tongue.

"So, this is why ya' left in a hurry, eh?"

Quickly, the two split apart and wiped their mouths, nervously. Gobber entered the forge, a massive smirk grazing his features as he eyed the teenagers. Astrid gave Hiccup a swift punch to the arm before making a quick exit, giving Gobber a wave goodbye before exiting the forge. The large viking turned to Hiccup, his brow lifted curiously.

"What!?" he said defensively.

Gobber shook his head. "Nothin', lad."


End file.
